Mauritius trade deficit widens 48 pct yr/yr in September

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Mauritius' trade deficit widened 48.2 percent in September from a year earlier to 8.01 billion rupees driven by the higher cost of imports of mineral fuels and lubricants, official data showed on Tuesday. The value of imports climbed 26.8 percent to 14.94 billion rupees with the cost of mineral fuels and lubricants increasing to 3.31 billion rupees from 2.24 billion a year ago. Exports rose 8.7 percent to 6.93 billion on the back of higher revenue from sales of food and live animals. Britain was the main buyer of goods from Mauritius in September, accounting for 14.5 percent, while India was the main supplier of the island nation's imports.